Biomedical engineering: from physics to ethics. The first popular lection from the cycle «Technologies of Future» was held in the frames of INO Tomsk 2020 project
The second cycle of popular lectures on seven pathbreaking directions of INO Tomsk 2020 project started in Tomsk regional library n.a. Pushkin (14 Karla Marksa Street). “Tomsk popular lectures” were held for the first time in 2010. The lectures were delivered by Tomsk leading scientists and developers. This year not only Tomsk citizens acted as lecturers, but also both Russian and foreign experts. Tomsk Region Administration and Noncommercial partnership “Onto” are organizers of the Lecture Cycle. The partners of the project are internet-project Theories and Practices of Tomsk and innovus.biz portal.
Before the beginning of the lecture Svetlana Fedorovskaya, Deputy Chairman of Forecasting committee of Tomsk region administration Economy department, told the participants of the lecture about the project “INO Tomsk 2020”, which is to transform Tomsk into the world center of education, research and development. Concept of the project was approved by government of The Russian Federation on October 6, 2011. “We want to create special innovative environment which will integrate main components of innovative system – science, education, developments, innovative infrastructure”, said Svetlana Fedorovskaya. According to her words in the frameworks of the projects social and transport infrastructure will be also constructed, which enables to provide appropriate conditions for life and work of lecturers, students and researchers.
Ideologists and initiators of INO Tomsk 2020 project realized that concentration of resources should go exactly in those directions which provide Tomsk with innovative and technological leadership on Russian and world markets. “We have conducted work with scientific society on the choice of such directions. Seven directions were selected which have not only scientific capacity, but also allow to carry out large-scale commercialization of innovations”, Svetlana Fedorovskaya told citizens about the choice of project directions.
Lecturers:
Yuri Dekhtyar, professor, director of Institute of biomedical engineering and nanotechnologies of Riga technical university, president of Latvian medical-engineering and physical society, member of New-York academy of science, expert of medical physical and engineering European network, member of European physical society.
Igor Khlusov, leader of educational and research center “Biocompatible materials and bioengineering” of Siberian state medical university, professor of the department of morphology and general pathology of Siberian state medical university, Doctor of medical science
Yuri Dekhtyar and Igor Khlusov are coauthors of the projects “The development of the concept and introduction of “tissue bioconstructors” technologies into regenerative medicine” that was verified by international expert board of the cluster “Biological and medical technologies” of “Skolkovo” innovative center and achieved the status of Participant of Skolkovo projects.
Richard Feyman blazed a trial for not only nanotechnologies, but also for bioengineers.
Professor from Tomsk started the lecture with telling about the levels of bioengineering which are connected with the levels of living matter organization. “The levels of organization and creation of artificial materials on the basis of which attempts of bioengineering exist, - these are polymers, metals, alloys, ceramics, carbon and their composites as well as hybrids. Besides chemical structure they should include levels from atomic one to the level of a living organism. On the assumption of difficulty of bioengineering hierarchy, its peculiarity is interdisciplinarity of the approach”, said Igor Khlusov. According to the words of the professor, the participation of physicists, doctors and biotechnologists are essential for bioengineering.
“Bioengineering has begun since 1959 from the words of Richard Feynman who was speaking in California University on the meeting of American physical society and pronounced prophetic words: “we will gather nanoobjects – atom to atom, molecule to molecule”, Igor Dekhtyar amplified the speech of his Tomsk colleague. Riga professor is sure that the law which was found out in 1965 by one of the founders of Intel – Gordon Moor, according to which the size of the microcircuit elements get smaller each 24 months, is still working. “In 2001 the technology of manipulating molecular size appeared, it means that the sizes of the microcircuit element were the size of a big molecule – biomolecule. A real possibility appeared to construct molecules, to build molecular devices”, told Juriy Dekhtyar.
Igor Khlusov and Juriy Dekhtyar presented the results of their cooperative research to Tomsk citizens. Professors told the listeners about the sphere of bioengineering in which they work – it is tissue bioengineering. The main directions for the development of products in this sphere are traumatology, orthopedics, dentistry, oral surgery, oncology and cardiology. The first tissue bioengineering task is regenerative medicine, the aim of which is prolonging human longevity. “The attempts are made to compensate or even to stop progress of the chronic disease and restore lost function of the organism”, states Igor Khlusov.
Inevitable integration of sciences.
Scientists broached the question about the crisis of existing methods of pharmaceutical correction of diseases which work according to the laws of biochemistry. “Atomic and molecular organization lies at the root of everything, and if treating the reason effectively without providing just symptomatic treatment, it will mean to treat the structure”, said Juriy Dekhtyar. According to the words of Igor Khlusov in connection with all above-mentioned, crisis of new directions appears, which in the first turn are connected with the achievements of physics.
Juriy Dekhtyar pointed out that today there exists physical instrument which allows to work with atoms on the level of structures, and this instrument can be found in all laboratories of the world, including Tomsk ones. “In 1986 Heinrich Rohrer was awarded with Nobel Prize for invention of scanning tunnel microscope. A little time passed, and today in Tomsk we have a possibility to move atoms”, Riga professor said.
Igor Khlusov told the participants of the lecture about Tomsk research which was carried out with his participation, about that as this research resulted in the necessity of cooperation with Juriy Dekhtyar. “Quantum medicine is medicine, based on physical phenomena and knowledge. On one side it works with high-energy radiation, on another side it works in the sphere of physiotherapy with impacts close to physical ones”, said Tomsk professor. As a result of Igor Khlusov and Juriy Dekhtyar common work projects appeared connected with the formation of implant surface which renders physiological impact on steam cells and biological tissues. One of them is 3D-vaccinotherapy for oncology disease, the essence of which lies in decreasing the gene activity which produces cancer cells.
On the example of their cooperation two professors demonstrated how it was important to work together in such difficult sphere as bioengineering for specialists on biomedicine and physicists.
According to the words of Igor Khlusov experimental physics of actively developing Riga technical university very successfully overlapped the school of material science in Tomsk. “I know that nowhere in Russia there are so many implants and items which are suitable for medicine, which can be found and used as a result of cooperation with scientists. Exactly Tomsk is one of the first cities not only in Russia, but also in the world where items with calcium-phosphate surfaces were used in clinic for bony tissue diseases treatment”, the professor of Siberian state medical university is sure.
Developments carried out by leading scientists are built into general scientific and technological trend. Juriy Dekhtyar told Tomsk citizens about Japanese invention – the pill, equipped with the camera which can deliver medicines to certain organs without any impact on others. “In our project we try to control adhesion (cell pulling-repulsion) by medicine delivery. We can control this process with the help of electric current guided through the bone. We use this technology for implants which can grow bony tissue or struggle with viruses by themselves”, highlighted professor.
Tempo of technology development is faster than the one of education development
In the connection with emphasizing challenges standing in front of scientific society of the world, the issue concerning modern education and the problem of the stuff working in scientific and technological sphere deficit was touched. Juriy Dekhtyar pointed out the conformity according to which physics delivers technology in impulses – once in 3 years, judging by the Nobel Prizes given. According to the professor’s point of view, educational technologies should develop with the same speed and even be in advance. “Soon the time will come when the development of technologies is hampered with the absence of well-qualified specialists”, Juriy is sure.
“About 20 years ago the cycle of science integration – a person teaching biology should know physics and vice versa. Integration of sciences makes it possible to form new nuclear of knowledge”, says Riga professor. According to him, the appearance of such new complex fundamental subjects as bioinformatics, biophysics etc., which need to be taught at university, set a new task for secondary school, which should take upon itself part of fundamental courses, which traditionally were taught on the first years at the university.
As an example Juriy Dekhtyar named practices fulfilled in the USA education. “New complex subjects can be taught during vacations. In the USA professors’ courses during summer vacation are very popular among students”, tells the professor. Also the professor addressing the students being in the auditorium noticed that American students never cheated off and asked a lot of questions, because every minute of their time at university they spent on raising their competitiveness.
Opinion of citizens
Igor Pimenov, student of medical department of Siberian state medical university
Lecture left more questions than answers – and it is a good effect. The main question is how we, future doctors, should integrate our knowledge into other spheres. How to connect medical education with physics, chemistry and other adjacent areas that is necessary for modern specialist?
Such formats as a popular lecture are very useful for students because professors at the university give knowledge only in their narrow spheres, on certain topics, but these lectures represent broader view, allowing seeing what happens in the world, which trends are developing. Such lectures give impetus to the improvement of professional skills.
The situation when professors of medical university and of technical university presented their experience at the same time has shown urgency and power of interdisciplinary interaction.
For me personally it is important because I don’t consider myself as a practitioner, I want to be a medical researcher. I understand that my education is not enough for moving in this direction. This lecture gave an idea how to be in progress.
Alexander V. Dmitriev, deputy director of Regional government department “Regional nature committee“
In general, the lecture made good impression. The characteristic of existing education system was interesting for me. On the one hand, new approaches in the education were defined taking into account three-year period of elaboration and introduction of new technologies, change of technologies. On the other hand, today formats of education still exist: 5 years at university, 10 years at school. At the same time some intermediate variants are built in this system. During the lecture a thought came to my mind, who would teach professors who read lectures for them to be able to adapt to this three-year cycle of technology change. Unfortunately, it is one of the main problems.
Of course, I was happy to know about new achievements of Tomsk scientists. I’ve never doubted in Siberian state medical university. I understood that it is necessary to attend such lectures and invite colleagues.
Maria Mitrenina and Dmitry Epov, information portal “Globalis.com”
The lecture was very interesting. Very close prospective of artificial growing of organs amazed. Interdisciplinary study of such subject as human being was exiting. Also the following thought of professor Dekhtyar seems interesting for us: to transfer studying of such subjects as physics, mathematics and other hard science from the first year at university to school, and at university only interdisciplinary subjects should be taught – biophysics, biochemistry etc. And the second one – that students should study on vacation and take additional courses.
Ilya Chekh, a student of electronic technique department, Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, 1-year student
I liked this lecture. I’ve learned a lot about technologies in medicine and about future technologies. I understood that we should go the times, have time to study and watch what is going on around us. I heard a message that there is a lack of specialists. The question arose concerning the education which should keep abreast with technologies.
Gennady Evtushenko, head of industrial and medical electronics department, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University
I clearly imagine what was said about biomedical engineering, because this topic is known for me in accordance with my professional activity. And again, the problem of education is questionable for me in this case.
In such format in my opinion a lot depends on the approach. The topic can be interesting and useful but the lecturers themselves should be interesting too. In this case lecturers are undoubtedly interesting. It is obvious that they know a lot about topic declared, have their own opinion, with which you can agree or sometimes can discuss some issues. But it is evidently that they are competent persons, working and achieving something in this sphere. It is not a simple lecture, but a discussion. Excursus into history, drawing analogies between technique and medicine – all these factors made lecture attractive for listeners.
Pavel Dushka, a student of innovative technologies department, Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, 2-year student
New technologies and materials which are being developed nowadays were presented. It is a prospective for the future. I was amazed by Juriy Dekhtyar telling about the development of atomic microscope, how employees of IBM manipulating with atoms, were able to form the company abbreviation from them. It is a wonder of technique.
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